- Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rand Paul floated naming Elon Musk as speaker of the House.
- Musk could become speaker, given there are few requirements for the job.
- Republicans backed Mike Johnson to retain the gavel in November, but that vote isn’t binding.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia joined a growing effort on Thursday by saying she would consider supporting Elon Musk being the next speaker of the House.
“I’d be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House,” Greene wrote on X. “DOGE can only truly be accomplished by reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency.”
Greene, who has repeatedly tussled with Speaker Mike Johnson, said electing the Tesla CEO as speaker “could be the way” to send a major message to those who want to continue business as usual.
“The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday,” said wrote.
House Republicans voted unanimously last month for Johnson to be their candidate for speaker. But that closed-door result is not binding, as evident by then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s struggles in early 2023. The entire House will vote in January on the next speaker.
Johnson is facing major unrest among his colleagues after Musk, President-elect Donald Trump, and others effectively blew up a bipartisan deal to avoid a government shutdown that included a number of unrelated provisions to entice Democrats to support it.
Greene tried to oust Johnson in May. But according to Politico reporter Olivia Beavers, she was planning to support Johnson in January.
“Not too long ago, Rep. MTG was telling me she was planning to back Speaker Johnson,” Beavers wrote on X.
The US Constitution outlines few requirements for to become speaker of the House. Musk or anyone else would not need to be an elected member of Congress to serve as speaker.
Greene quoted a separate post from Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, which kicked off the effort to make Musk for one of the most powerful jobs in Washington.
“Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk . . . think about it . . . nothing’s impossible (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds),” Paul, a Republican, wrote on X.
Paul’s comment is reminiscent of previous efforts to push now-President-elect Donald Trump as speaker. Then-Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, voted for Trump during the initial days-long stand off that ended up with Johnson as speaker.
As the world’s wealthiest person, Musk would have unprecedented power in the unlikely event he were to become speaker — posing a multitude of conflicts of interest. The speaker of the House is also part of the so-called “Gang of 8,” a group of top congressional leaders regularly briefed on highly classified US intelligence. While Musk is known for his tendency to plow himself into his work, the day-to-day duties as speaker of the House are considerable.
Musk would also have to give up one powerful aspect of the speakership: the ability to become president. Musk was born in South African to non-US citizens, making him unable to satisfy the US Constitution’s requirement that only “natural-born” citizens can become president.
In this event, the House Speaker would not be second in line of succession after the vice president. Instead, the president pro tempore of the US Senate would move up. The president pro tempore is often the senior most member of the majority party, meaning it will likely be Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is 91.
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